In an effort to recoup an estimated $200,000 in annual costs related to false dispatches, the Roseville (Pa.) City Council voted unanimously to amend the city's alarm ordinance to allow for increased fines and permit fees ...

Security Resource

ROSEVILLE, Pa. — In an effort to recoup an estimated $200,000 in annual costs related to false dispatches, the city council here voted unanimously to amend the city’s alarm ordinance to allow for increased fines and permit fees.

The Roseville Police Department spent 2,800 hours answering false burglar alarms in 2010, which cost an estimated $130,000 in staff time, reports Roseville Press-Tribune. Despite recovering roughly $36,390 in new permit fees and $61,700 in excessive false alarm fines, it costs about $200,000 to manage the city’s alarm program and respond to calls.

The newly amended ordinance reduces free false alarm responses from three to one in a 12-month period. Prior to the change, users were fined $50 after reaching three false alarms in the same period. Offenders will now pay $60 for a second false alarm; third, $85; fourth, $100.

Additionally, new alarm permits will increase from $30 to $35. Users will pay an annual $5 renewal fee for police to update users’ information.

Burglar alarms are the third most common calls received by the Roseville PD. Of those, 99 percent are false alarms.